Copying-press.



No. 769,821- PATENTED SEPT. 13, 1904.

M. J. FOYER.

COPYING PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 17, 1903.

N0 MODEL. 4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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PATENTED SEPT. 13, 1904.

4 SHEETSSHBIET 2.

No."769,821. M. J. FOYER.

COPYING PRESS; I

APPLIOATION FILED AUG. 17 1903.

NO MODEL. 1

H mm WITNESSES:

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A TTORNE Y.

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PATENTED SEPT. 13, 1904.

M.v J. FOYER.

COPYING PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.17, 1902.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

N0 MODEL.

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I ATTORNEY.

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PATENTED SEPT. 13, 1904.

M. J. FOYER. I

COPYING PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 17, 1903.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4.

N0 MODEL.

A TTORNE Y.

WITNESSES a/aa, flow/0d.

UNITED STATES Patented September 13, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

MELVIN J. FOYER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE AMERICAN BANK SERVICE COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

- COPYING-PRESS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 769,821, dated September 13, 1904.

Application filed August 1'7, 1903. Serial No. 169,803. (No model.)

in Copying-Presses, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to letter-copying machines of that general type wherein the letters are copied upon tissue-paper supplied to the machine in the form of a roll mounted therein and passes through the machine by the operation thereof, the" paper being first carried through a bath in which it is moistened, then squeezed by wringers to exude surplus moisture, and afterward passed, together with the letter to be copied, between pressure-rolls and delivered from the latter beneath a knife or cutter or onto a receiving-reel, from which the strip of printed paper is later cut into sheets corresponding with the several sheets that have been copied thereon.

In a pending application heretofore filed by me on the 29th day of September, 1902, under Serial No. 125,252, and allowed on the 21st day of February, 1903, a machine of this type is disclosed.

The present application represents a further development and perfecting of the aforesaid machine in several important respects, the leading improvement to which the present invention relates residing in a novel means for raising the strip of paper entirely out of the bath when the machine is not in use, thereby preventing the strip from soaking and disintegrating in the bath, which requires a repriming of the machine when it is again used.

Other minor improvements relate to a novel means for preventing the moisture from backing up on that portion of the strip which lies between the wringer-rolls and the receivingdrum, a novel means for adjusting the degree of separation of the several rolls, a novel guide for maintaining the paper strip in an accurate path of travel to the rolls, a novel shield for preventing the detached and loose end of the strip from accidentally being caught and fed back into the rolls, and improvements in the delivery-roll and the receiving-reel designed to facilitate and improve the respective operations thereof, as hereinafter more particularly pointed out.

Still other minor features of improvement contributing to the improved character of the machine as a whole will appear later in the general description of the machine and its operation.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated a machine embodying the improvements aboveen'umerated in the best forms which I have hitherto devised.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the complete machine, the parts thereof being shown in operative position. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view through the machine with the parts in the relative positions shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. i is a similar view showing the strip elevated out of the bath and the copying-rolls separated. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail inside view of the upper end of one of the side frame members on the line 5 5 of Fig. 6, illustrating particularly the specific construction of several of the improved features above referred to. Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 5, partly in section, on the line 6 6 of the latter figure. Fig. 7 is a sectional detail view more particularly illustrating the eccentric-pin on which the main eccentric which operates the roll-carrying bar on each side of the machine is mounted. Fig. 8 is a detail view of the same on the line 8 8 of Fig. 7 looking in the direction indicated by the arrows. Fig. 9 illustratesa modification of the eccentric-pin shown in Figs. 7 and 8, such modification consisting in an eccentricrod extending entirely across and between the side frame members of the machine. Fig. 10 is a detail view of the paper support and guide interposed between the delivery-roll and the wringer-rolls and serving to insure the correct alinement and delivery of the paper to the latter. partly in section, illustrating a simple means for enabling the receiving-reel to be relieved of the tension created by its drivingbelt Fig. 11 is a detail view,

when it is desired to unroll the paper therefrom without necessitating the removal or slackening of said belt. Fig. 12 is a similar detail view, partly in section,illustrating the improved spindle on which the delivery-roll is mounted; and Fig. 13 is an isolated detail in perspective of one of the companion rollcarrying bars.

Referring to the drawings, 16 and 17 designate a pair of similarly-formed vertical side frame members, between which are journaled the several operating-rolls of the machine. In the left-hand end of the'machine, as herein shown,is loosely mounted the spindle of the delivery-roll 18, of thin paper, on which the letters are to be copied. At the opposite end of the machine is journaled a receiving-reel 19,

and 20 designates each of a series of tie-rods uniting and spacing the main side frame members. 1n the upper end of each side frame member is secured a headed bolt 21, Figs. 7 and 8, that portion of the bolt lying inside the frame being made eccentric to the main body of the bolt, as shown at 22, for a purpose hereinafter described. Rotatably mounted on the eccentric portions of these bolts are a pair of eccentrics 23, which are connected by a bail-shaped handle 24, so as to be operated in unison. Mounted on said eccentrics 23 are a pair of depending swinging bars 25, constituting a roll carrying frame. The formation of these bars is best shown in the detail view Fig. 13, from which it appears that each of said bars is provided near its upper end with a bearing-boss 26 to receive the spindle of an upper roll 27, an elongated slot or recess 28 below the boss 26 to house the end of the spindle of the intermediate roll 29, and an elongated slot 30 in its lower end adapted to engage a pin hereinafter described to guide the lower end of the bar. On the inner face of each side frame member is cast an inwardly projecting bracket 31, Figs. 5 and 6, constituting in part a guide and housing for the lower end of the bar 25. The lower end of the bracket 31 carries a pin 32, which engages the slot 30 of the bar 25, guiding and limiting the movement of the latter. On one margin of the bar 25 near its upper end is an inwardly-proecting lug 33, which constitutes a stop serving to limit the inward and downward throw of the bail 24 in the operation of separating the rolls. J ournaled in open bearings in the side frame members directly below the lower ends of the. bars 25 is a lowermost roll 34. Overlying each journal of the intermediate roll 29 is a half-bearing 35, normally pressed down upon the spindle by means of a compression-spring 36,interposed between the top of the half-bearing and an overhanging projection of the bracket 31.

From the foregoing it will be seen that any movement of the bail 24 elevating or depressing the bars 25 will correspondingly raise or lower the top roll 27; but by reason of the fact that the end bearings of the intermediate roll 29 are housed Within longitudinallyelongated slots in said bars the latter may have a limited amount of longitudinal play without affecting the position. of said roll. The service which this construction performs will be set forth hereinafter in the description of the operation of the machine. it beinghere noted that the upper roll 27 constitutes a pres sure or copying roll, the intermediate roll 29 serves in association with the upper roll 27 as a pressure or copying roll, while in association with the lowermost roll 34 it performs the function of a wringing roll, the lowermost roll 34 having solely the function of a wringing-roll.

Directly beneath the wringing roll 34 is mounted or placed a pan, tank, or trough adapted to be filled with water, through which the strip is caused to travel as it passes from the delivery-roll to the wringing-rolls.

Any suitable and convenient mechanism for driving the rolls 27, 29, and 34 may be employed within the purview of my invention; but the means I prefer to employ, which are the same as those shown and described in the pending application, Serial No. 125,252, hereinbefore referred to, are as follows: On the outer face of one of the roll-carrying bars opposite the oblong recess 28 is cast an integral boss 37, this boss being provided with a bore adapted to receive a stub-shaft 38, which is tapped or otherwise secured therein. On the projecting end of the shaft 38 is mounted a pinion 39, and on said shaft, fast with the outer face of the pinion and confined by a nut 40, is a crank-arm 41. The pinion lies below and in mesh with a spur-gear 42, fast on the projecting spindle of the upper pressureroll. The receiving-reel 19 may conveniently be driven from the lowermost wringing-roll by pulleys 43 and 44 on the overhanging spindles of said reel and roll, respectively, connected by a belt 45. As shown in Fig. 11, the pulley 43 is clamped on the reduced extremity of the spindle of the reel by means of a thumb-nut 46, which serves to clamp said pulley between itself and the shoulder of the shaft, thereby making the pulley rigid with the shaft for the purposes of driving the reel. W hen it is desired to remove the paper previously accumulated on the reel, this may be done without danger of tearing the paper by simply turning back the thumb-nut 46, thus making the pulley loose on the reel-shaft and relieving the latter of all tension.

47 designates a shaft rotatably journaled in and between the main side frame members inwardly-of the delivery-roll, said shaft having on one end thereof a thumb-piece 48, whereby the shaft may be readily oscillated in its bearings. Above and slightly inward of the shaft 47 is mounted a guide-rod 49, this rod having projecting upwardly thererolls.

from near each end guide-pins 50, spaced apart a distance equal to the width of the paper strip and so positioned as to maintain the latter in true relation to the wringing- Fast on the shaft 17 is a frame consisting of a pair of radial arms 51, in and between the outer ends of which are mounted a pair of parallel guide-rods 52 and 53, be-

tween which the paper strip is confined. By

reference to Figs. 5 and 6 it'will be seen that the hub of one of the arms 51 has a pair of notches 5 1 and 55, adapted to be alternately engaged by a tooth 56 on the lower end of a thumb-lever 57 pivoted to the inner face of the side frame member, the lower end of said thumb-lever being backed by a compressionspring 58 to causesaid lever to engage one or the other of the notches 54: and 55.

Fig. 12 illustrates an improvement in the means for supporting and mounting the delivery-roll 18. Here 59 designates a rod adapted to lie coincident with the axis of the roll and screw-threaded at its opposite ends to receive end extensions in the nature of heads 60,

the inner faces of which are of sufficient diameter to lightly compress and hold the paperroll endwise, and have central bosses en- ;tering and plugging the ends of the cylinder or spool of the roll, while their outer ends are provided with journals adapted to suitable open bearings in the frame. As a means for quickly applying and removing these heads to and from the ends of the rod or spindle 59 they may conveniently be provided with transverse apertures 61, through which a pin or nail may be inserted to afford a suflicient grasp on the head to turn the same. This arrangement allows the spindle to be adapted to rolls of slightly-varying lengths and always insures the accurate centering and positioning of the roll relatively to the members of the machine served thereby.

62 designates a shield or apron consisting of a curved plate provided on its back with one or more" hooks 63, whereby it may be hung over one of the tie-rods 20 on the discharging side of the rolls, with its lower end portion resting against one of the lowermost tie-rods 20 and with its concave face toward the receiving-reel. The purpose of this shield is to prevent the loose end of the paper strip when severed from the reel from dropping back and being caught between the wringing-rolls. As

will be seen, this shield is not permanently attached to the machine, but may be readily removed when not required. In lugs 64, formed on the inner faces of the side frame members, is removably supported a basket 65, so positioned as to receive the letters or other original matter from which the copy or impression is taken, while on upwardly-extending fingers 66 of the side frame members is removably supported a table or platform 67, adapted to receive and support the papers to be copied in a position to be fed to and through the copy ing-rolls.

The operation may be briefly described as follows: When the machine is to be primed, the handle or bail 24 is thrown back to its full extent, or in a position in which it engages the stop 33. This action through the eccentrics 23 elevates the side bars 25 to their highest position. During such elevation of the side bars the topmost roll 27 is bodily carried upward to the same extent that the side bars are raised. The intermediate roll 29 is elevated out of contact with the lowermost roll 34 during the latter part of the rising movement of the side bars or as soon as the lowermost edge of the slot 28 has contacted and picked up the spindle of said intermediate roll. This separated position of the three rolls is indicated in Fig. 5, although the bail 24 is not therein shown as swung to quite the limit of its movement. The end of the paper strip from the delivery-roll 18 is then passed beneath the shaft 17, thence up and over the rod 19, between the guide-fingers 50, thence between the guide-rods 52 and 53, thence up over the front of the lower roll 34, between said roll and the roll 29, around the back side of the latter roll, and thence between the same and the upper roll 27 to the receiving-reel 19, the

end of the strip being wound or tucked once or twice about one of the rods of said reel to cause it to hold and wind thereon. The bail 24: is then swung to the opposite extreme of its movement, or to the position indicated in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, which action by lowering the side bars carries the rolls into surface contact. The moistening-pan having been filled with water, the shaft 17 is oscillated by releasing the catch 57. so as to permit the lower ends of the arms 51 and the guide-rods 52 and 53 carried thereby to drop into the water, carrying the paper strip with them, as shown in Fig. 3. Upon then turning the crank 41 and feeding the sheets to be copied successively through and between the rolls 27 and 29 the impression is received on the strip which is wound up on the reel 19, the original papers being received by the basket 65.

When it is desired to intermit the operation of the machine for a short time, this may be done'without necessitating the repriming of the machine by simply turning the shaft 47 back into a position to elevate the strip out of the moistening-pan, as shown in Fig. 1, the guide-frame being retained in this elevated position by the engagement of the nose 56 of the catch with the notch 5 1, just as the guideframe was formerly retained in a position to guide the strip through the bath by the engagement of the catch with the notch 55.

The manner of mounting the intermediate roll, hereinbefore described in connection with Figs. 5 and 6. performs an important function in that it permits the separation of the copythe springs 36 on the half-bearings 35.

ing-rolls when the operation of the machine is intermitted or stopped without separating the wringing-rolls. This is produced by a half-throw of the bail 24 tothe position indicated in Fig. 4:, whereby the side bars are elevated suificiently to separate the copyingrolls, but not sufiiciently to cause the lower ends of the slots 28 to engage and pick up the journals of the intermediate roll, and the latter is therefore maintained pressed upon the lower roll by the compressive action lof T 1e valuable result of this is that the compressive action of the wringer-rolls on the strip of paper lying between them prevents the moisture from rising by absorption or capillary attraction into that portion of the strip lying above and beyond the nip of the rolls.

In connection with the last-described manipulation of the rolls through the bail 24: and its eccentrics 23 it may be noted that the cocentric pins or journals of the eccentrics 23 shown and described in connection with Figs. 7 and 8 enable the extent of the elevation of the side bars by the eccentrics to be nicely regulated by the set of the eccentrics 22 of the bearing-pins 21. This enables a more perfect adjustment and cooperative effect to be secured between the three rolls, it being observed that when the machine is in operative position the rolls must contact with some pressure, since only the top roll is positively rotated, the others being driven by frictional contact.

In Fig. 9 I have illustrated a modification of the idea represented in Figs. 7 and 8, wherein the two eccentric-pins in the opposite side frames of the machine are replaced by a single eccentric-bar 22. This construction involves the use of more metal and a slightly-increased weight of the machine; but it has the advantage of insuring an exactly equal adjustment of the journals of both eccentrics, and consequently obviates any unevenness or inequality in the reciprocations of the side bars 25.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the several improvements hereinabove described all cooperate toward producing a machine that iscapable of easy priming, rapid, reliable, and eflicient operation, and an increased economy both in respect to freedom from waste of the impression-receiving strip when the operation of the machine is intermitted and in respect to the saving of time involved in 0bviating the necessity of frequent repriming.

It is apparent that the described improvements might be modified somewhat as to details without lessening the improved results secured or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention, and hence I do not desire to be limited in the interpretation of the invention to the exact forms or relative arrangements shown and described, except to the extent that the same are made the subject ofspecific claims.

I claim 1. In a copying-press of the class described,

the combination with the machine-frame and the delivery and copying rolls'suitably mounted therein, of a pivoted paper-guide interposed between said delivery and copying rolls and means for swinging the paper-engaging part thereof into and out of the moistening-bath, substantially as described.

2. In a copying-press of the class described, the combination with the machine-frame and the delivery and copying rolls suitably mounted therein, of a paper-guide having a pair of parallel guiding and confining members between which the paper strip passes, and means for moving said guiding and confining members bodily into and out of the moisteningbath and means for retaining them in either position, substantially as described.

3. In a copying-press of the class described, the combination with the machine-frame and the delivery and copying rolls suitably mounted therein, of a pivoted paper-guide mounted in said frame between said delivery and copying rolls, said guide comprising an oscillatory shaft, a pair of radial arms thereon, and a pair of parallel paper guiding and confining rods or bars connecting the free ends of said arms, means for oscillating said shaft to carry said guiding and confining rods or bars bodily into and out of the moistening-bath, and means for locking said shaft in either position of adjustment, substantially as described.

4:. In a copying-press of the class described, the combination with the machine-frame and a wringing-roll journaled therein, of a pair of copying-rolls mounted one above the other above said wringing-roll, spring-pressed journal-blocks engaging the journals of the intermediate roll and normally pressing the latter onto the lower roll, side bars in which the upper roll is journaled, said side bars also loosely confining the journals of the intermediate roll with capacity for lost motion, eccentrics on which said side bars are hung, and an operating-bail or the like connecting said eccentrics and operating when swung partly through its movement to separate the top and middle rolls and when swung to the limit of its movement to separate all three rolls, substantially as described.

5. In a copying-press of the class described, the combination with the frame of the machine, of means for rotatably supporting the delivery-roll therein, the same consisting of a rod having at its ends extension-pieces adjustable toward and from each other, the inner ends of said extension-pieces having fiat faces of increased diameter to clamp the ends of the roll, and their outer ends constituting the journals of the roll, one or both of said extension-pieces being separable from the rod, substantially as described.

6. In a copying-press of the class described, the combination with the frame of the machine, of a rod adapted to constitute the axis of the d elivery-roll and screw-threaded at its ends, and extension-pieces having at their inner ends flat faces of increased diameter adapted to screw onto the ends of said rod and clamp the ends of the roll, their outer ends being formed as journals and rotatabl y mounted in the frame, and said extension-pieces further having transverse apertures formed through them for the insertion of a tool to turn them, substantially as described.

7. In a copying-press 0f the class described, the combination with the frame and the delivery and copying rolls mounted therein, of a rod over which the paper strip is passed between said delivery roll and the copyingrolls, said rod having radially-projecting fingers to laterally guide and confine the strip, substantially as described.

8. In a copying-press of the class described, the combination with the frame and the delivery and copying rolls mounted therein, of a plurality of rods mounted at different heights transversely of the frame between the delivery-roll and the copying-rolls and slidingly engaged by the strip, one of said rods having radially-projecting fingers inwardly bent at their outer ends to guide and confine the strip, substantially as described.

9. In a copying-press of the class described, the combination with side bars carrying the copying-rolls, and eccentrics on which said side bars are supported and actuated, of shafts on which said eccentrics are rotatably mounted, the eccentric-engaging parts of said shafts being made eccentric to the longitudinal axes of the shafts, and said shafts being adjustable around their longitudinal axes, substantially as described.

10. In a copying-press of the class described, the combination with the frame and the receiving-reel journaled therein, of a driving-pulley mounted on the shaft of. the reel, and a manually-operated device for rendering said pulley fast or loose on the shaft, substantially as and for the purpose described.

11. In a copying press of the class described, the combination with the frame and the receiving-reel journaled therein, of a driving-pulley loosely mounted on a reduced overhanging end of the shaft, and a thumb-nut serving to clamp said pulley laterally against an annular shoulder on the shaft, substantially as and for the purpose described.

12. In a copyingpress of the class described, the combination with the frame, and the wringing and copying rolls and receivingreel mounted therein, of a shield or apron disposed between the wringing-rolls and the reel, substantially as and for the purpose described.

13. In a copying press of the class described, the combination with the frame, and the wringing and copying rolls and receiving- 'reel mounted therein, of a shield or apron removably supported 011 the frame between the wringing-rolls and reel, and a basket removably supported on the frame opposite the copying-rolls, substantially as and for the purpose described.

' MELVIN J. FOYER. Witnesses:

HANNAH A. APELT, CARoLYNE (l HOGAN. 

